Blaster

I accept your sorry but try to not patronising me You got it right this time we are talking working inverter providing juice to the fridge, so no standby situation, your comment is irrelevant if the fridge is kept plugged in 24/7. My inverter is Victron Multiplus II, once again, I will repeat, if I switch it off I save about 40ah in a 24h period. I cannot remember the exact consumption to the decimals, but will post a picture soon. Don't make me say what I have never said. I started this topic asking recommendations for a 12v fridge. I also explained why I stay away from 240v fridge running 24/7.

Thanks for the links, I was not aware that these can be fitted from outside of the tank. Will definitely look into.

I wouldn't go for a 240v fridge at all, my inverter sucks about 40A in 24h period, so switching my inverter off when away for a 3-4 days I can run the fridge full time without topping up with generator or engine. My 240v consumption is based only on phone/laptop chargers and TV, so when I do not use any of these, 40amps a day is a good deal of saving the juice.

Not sure about the dump, I use the Victron MPPT 250/100 and there is no dumper to install or connect. I appreciate most of the wind turbines need one, but my plan is actually for Rutland 914i with HRDi controller which doesn't require heat damper. A this is a lithium bank I may need to connect an Orion DC-DC between the Rutland controller and the BMS, just to have the right voltage. I would disagree, I think that for most people the real stopper is the fact that you have to make a bespoke bracket with folding option, probably weld the bracket to the deck, arrange a set of 4 shrouds with turnbuckles with anchoring points to the deck (welding again?), plus invest in a descent sized wind generator with a controller etc. The easiest way to get juice for most is to throw few solar panels on the roof and connect the controller, job done. Also, I suppose that lots of the wind turbines are not very productive, unless you spend some 1-2k for a good one with good output. Regarding the noise, I had a sailboat with Rutland 504 a while ago, I could barely hear it from 2 meters away, most of the time is was a whistling from the blades in a strong wind. Installing one on a canalboat would not disturb the neighbours or the owner, especially if the rigging is one correctly.

Hi all, planning to install a Webasto Thermo Top C but a bit confused about where from to take the fuel supply? I prefer to not take it from the engine supply line and tap directly into the fuel tank but cannot access to the top of the tank (which is the deck of my semi trad), the only option is to drill into the side from engine bay. But how to affix the fuel pipe to a side wall? Any fixings to buy or make? any help will be very welcome, thanks in advance

The actual "real life" figure is as I stated, half hour or so (make it 40 min if you prefer) at 1100rpm with 70A alternator (providing 40ah) and Honda eu2000i (about 95ah) which tops up about 10-12% of the full bank and this is what I actually use in 24h. The Wakespeed 500 is in on order with Bosch 150A alternator, will replace the generator soon, giving about the same 90-95Ah. The comments about sulphation and charging times are irrelevant, as I stated before, this is a bank of 2 Victron (330ah each) Lithium batteries. Using only 50% of the actual capacity gives me 4 days easy without need to run the engine, I run it for hot water only at the moment. Regarding the size of the bank, a 1320A is perfectly reasonable, taking into account that I plan to run a washer-dryer which will average a 1.4Kw per cycle. So having 660A as a 50% of usable power allows me to run a wash/dry cycle a week plus have few days without need to run the engine. Solar and wind will be the main source, the engine is the last resort.

Absolutely agree with all the above you said, this is why I try to work around with all the possible options: - I still have to cruise and change my moorings every 14 days. Pump out and refuelling in a marina. Cruising around for fun. Running the engine 30 min a day to heat the water for shower. All this should produce as much of juice as possible. So Wakespeed with another alternator is a great option, will put around 150Ah back into the batteries. - Portable Honda eu2000i is for regular top-ups, the gene gives about 95Ah so running it every few days is sufficient providing the battery bank is big enough to cope with 5-6 days of use. That's why I will add two more of 330Ah batteries to the existing bank of 660Ah. This would allow me to run a washer-dryer 1-2 times a week without reaching 50% of the bank. - 1.2Kw of solar and wind Rutland 914i in plans for this August, so this will be my primary source of power for most of the time.

There is not only one single logic about how to reduce the use or improve electrical system. There are different approaches that you have to be aware of. I'm on a full lithium set up with Victron including the BMS, chargers, MPPT and battery protection systems in place. As you probably know, the lithium batteries will take as much as you can dump on them, reaching the floating point quicker than the lead acid. I actually run one 70Ah alternator plus a Honda eu2000i generator and my batteries are taking what I need for a 24h cycle in about 30 min. I dump all of this juice (about 150A) through the Orion and MultiPlus II and my batteries take all of it. My plan is to double up my battery bank from 660Ah to 1320Ah in few months plus another 150Ah alternator running directly through Wakespeed WS500 connected to BMS so I can live with few solar panels about 1 week without switching on the engine/generator then running them for a couple of hours (if needed) and get all the juice topped up for another week or so. It makes perfectly sense to have a very productive alternator set up to put less hours on the engine and be very fuel efficient every time.

Hi all, thanks for your input, very helpful! the plan is to remove the crank pulley which is actually 120mm diameter and send it to a workshop to machine a new one to the exact same specs but with 6 V ribs for each belt and 190mm diameter. the whole thing is to have a better grip and higher speed from the alternators. I don't see anything else driven by this belts, no water pumps, nothing. the engine is Thornicroft 1.8 but when I contacted Calcutta I have been told that this is not an ordinary BMC or Leyland but looks like a Mitsubishi engine, branded by Thornicroft. So I'm with decision to make, does it make sense to take the pulley off and send it to be copied in larger version, and could this later on damage the engine cause of a higher torque? And would the fact that I take the crank pulley off will create some issues, especially if I run the engine in the meantime? Cheers

Thanks for your reply. I just always knew you have to run any engine with ate least some load, like if you run your outboard on gear, you should never run it on a stand but in a water tank so there is some load at least.

Hi all, Just removing my crank pulley to send it to a workshop to re-manufacture one with V ribs, but still will need to run the engine on daily basis for heating the water. So this is the question, can this possibly damage the engine, running at some 1000-1100rpm with no load? The double alternators I actually have still create some load and and disconnecting them, does this change anything? Thanks for replies.

Thanks a lot for your help, that's a very useful one 😀

Thanks for advice, very helpful 😊

Hi all, Trying to find a marina or boatyard that would offer a hard standing for a 60 footer narrowboat with sandblasting and allow me to do some welding by myself. Called the Hemel, Uxbridge and High Line but all of them offer sandblasting with no DIY welding, saying they have to do welding themselves. Can anyone suggest me a place with reasonable price anywhere not too far away from London? Thanks in advance.

Hi all, Looks like my old 12v fridge is about to die, I start looking for a decent sized replacement on, some 110-140L volume and with very low consumption. Can anyone suggest a good and reliable brand to look at? Every time I google for a 12v fridge I see the Dometic to come in the first line of suggestions but pricy as hell 😵 Do the Dometic worth the money (£1400.00 for a 139 litres?!) or there are good cheaper alternatives to it? Cheers